Lawn sprinkler valve



c. A. BuRRoUGl-ls l 2,267,492

LAWN SPRINKLER VALVE Filed sept. 5, 1940 Dec. 23, 1941.

6 Sheets-Shee't 2 Clarence ,A urfrozys' Dec. '23', 1941.

LAwNsPRINKLER`vALvE Filed sept. 3.' A1940 k Z9 y j? Y CAVBURROUGHS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 v-Dec. 23, 1941. c. A. URRoUGHs V 2,267,492

, LAWNv sPRINxLER VALVE 4 Dec. 23, 1941.

` C. A. BURROUGHS LAWN SPRINKLER VALVE e sheets-sheet 5 Filed Sept. 3. 1940 Clarence A.zzrrozfgs l Dec. 23, 1941. cfAA, BVuRRouGHs LAWN sPRNxLER VALVE Filed sept. 3,' 1940 y je@ Ill, v Y Is Patented Dec. 23, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAWN sPRlNKLEnvALvE Clarence A; Eurroughs, Sacramento, Calif. Application september 3, V11.1.40, serial No. 355,221 anims.4 (o1. la7- 132) This invention relates to a lawn sprinkler valve which is` animprovement over that shown in my pending applicationSerial No. 232,671, filed September 30, 1938, now Patent No. 2,224,508, oi December 10, 1940.

One object of the inventionv isl to provide a iawnsprinkler Valve which will be operable,

when installed in a lawn watering system or between a water pipe and a sprinkler nozzle, for automatically shutting off iiow of -Water to the nozzle after the passage of a predetermined length of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lawn sprinkler valve `which is of much more simple con-struction than the valve disclosed in my pending application above mentioned.

A further object of the invention is to provide a valve of this character which will be extremely ruggedin construction and highly effective 'in use. e e

A further object of the invention is to provide a lawn sprinkler valve so constructed that `it lends itself readily for use in a sprinkler systrolling mechanism which is of simpler construction than that shown in my pending application vabove referred to.

Other and incidental objects of the invention,

not mentioned hereinbefore, will become appare ent during the course of the following description.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved lawn sprinkler valve,

Figure 2 is an 'end elevationof the device,

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 3--3 of Figure r2 looking in the direction irdicated by the arrows,

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional View on the line 4--4 of Figure 2, v

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the improved lawn sprinkler valve, l

Figure 6 is a vertical detail sectional view on the line 6-6 of Figure 2, and

Figure .7 is an enlarged detail vertical sectional View on the line '1 -I of Figure 2.

Referring now more rparticularly to the drawings and, for the present, tol Figures 1 and 3 thereof, the numeral I indicates in general the body of my improved lawn sprinkler valve. The body I is preferably formed of heavy castmetal and is closed at its upper end by a removable top wall2, said'top wall `being held in place by means of Yscrews 3 which extend into the wall 4 of the body. As will be seen, the Wall 4 is of substantially U-shapeiand includes straight side portions 5 and 6 and a semi-circular end portion 7. `The wall 4 is formed with inwardly projecting spaced projections 8;,which are recessed at their .correspondingupper ends to receive the screws 3, the projections, o-f course, providing reinforce- .ment for said-wall.

. 'Ihe body I is closed at; its lower end by a bottom wall 9." The portions 5 and 6 are thickened,`

`section I 4 which is, of course, integral and which `is Vsubstantially triangular in shape. The intermediate section cooperates with the wall 4 for defining a water chamber l5, the purpose for which will beexplained in more detail hereinafter. i The intermediate section also cooperates with the thickened portions IU `and II for den- -ing substantially halfv of a valve chamber I6, the vremaining half of said valve chamber being deiined `bya hollow end section Il which is rigidly mounted on the body by means of bolts I8 which `extend longitudinally of the side walls I9 and 20 of the hollowend section Il. The end section I'I is also provided with an end wall ZI. In orderto insure against leakage between the body I 'and the end section I1, I` provide a gasket 22.

'Normally screwed into the opening I2 and having its inner end communicating with the valve chamber I6 is an inlet pipe 23, said inlet pipe having its opposite end normally connected with a source` of water under pressure. Screwed into the opening I34 in the thickened portion II is a combined bushing and valve seat 24 which is preferably formed of semi-resilient material and which is internally threaded, as shown at 25, to receivethe end of an outlet pipe 26, said outlet pipe Vbeing connected with a succeeding lawn sprinkler valve or, if none exists, being closed at its free end by means of a suitable plug. It should, .of course, be understood that, where no succeeding sprinkler valves are employed, the pipe will be entirely supplanted by the plug mentioned.

The end wall 2| of the section Il is formed with an opening 2l which is internally threaded to receive a combined bushing and valve seat 28 which is similar to the combined bushing and valve seat 24. The combined bushing and valve seat 28 is internally threaded to receive the inner end of an outlet pipe 29 which has its opposite end connected with a lawn sprinkler. As will be seen, the combined bushings and valve seats 25 and 28 communicate with the interior of the valve chamber I6 and, are eachv provided with seat members 33 which project a slight distance within said chamber.

As will be seen by referring particularly to Figure 4 of the drawings, the end section I1 is formed with a bore 3| which communicates between the upper surface of said end section and the valve chamber '|'6, said bore being internally threaded throughout substantially half' its length and being reduced to Ydeiine a shoulder 32. EX- tending downwardly tothe; bore 3|' and through the valve chamber |6- is; a valve stem 3-3, said valve stem having a squared lowerend portion 34, and said valveastem being reduced below said lower end portion to define a trunnion 35 which is journaled in a bushing- 36, said bushing being A mounted in a socket 3T' which is invertical aline- I ment with the axis of the bore 3 L In order to mount the valvestem axially with respect to the bore 31,1- provide a gland 38- which is formed with a threaded'shank 39, said shank being normally screwed into the bore V3|. As will be observed, the shank is not threadedv throughout its length, the lower end portion thereof being free from threads. The. gland is, however, formed with a concaved lower end 4U which is normally engageable with packing 4|, said packing surrounding the stem 33, above the squared portion 34. The gland is rotatable for compressing the packing against the stem and against a stop washer 42 which lies in the bore 3| adjacent the shoulder 32.r there will be no. possibility of leakage from the chamberv I6. upwardly along the stem 33.

The valve member for controlling iiowV through the pipes 26Y and 29 will now be described. This valve member is indicated generally at 43 and includes a shank 44 which is formed, at onel end, with an oblong rectangular opening 45 which receives the squared portion 34 of the valve stem 33 therethrough. It will be seen that the oblong rectangular opening is of greater length than the thickness ofthe squared portion with the result that the valve member 43 mayshft laterally with respect to the valve stem.

Mounted on opposite @sides of the shank 44 are valve elements liliand 4l,y said valve elements being of circular configuration and being formed' of relatively' soft material. The valve elements aremounted in recesses 48 and are held in position in said recesses by screws' 49.

It will now be understoodthat, when the valve stem 33Y is moved to onel extreme position, the valve member 4-3 will be locatedV with the valve element 41 i-n engagement with the valve seat 3'on the combined bushing andy valve'seat 24. In View of the-fact that theelongated rectangular opening is provided, the valve member may shift laterally to a slight degree to assure an effective seating engagement with said. seat member 39. When the valve stem is moved to its other extreme position, as shown in dotted lines It will now be seen that' in Figure 3, the valve member will be disposed for positioning the valve element 45 in engagement with the seat member 30 of the combined bushing and valve seat 28. The elongated rectangular opening 45 will, of course, cooperate with the valve stem for permitting most effective seating of the valve .element 46.

For shifting the valve stem 33, I employ a lever, which is indicated generally at 50. The lever 5|) is formed of strap metal of sumcient thickness to assure normal rigidity but not of too great thickness to prevent a slight measure of resiliency. The inner end of the lever is turned upon itself and split to deiine an attaching hub 5| which receives the upper end of the stem 33. A bolt 52, with cooperating nut 53 thereon, extends transversely of the plug and urges the split portions toward each other for tightlyclamping the lever in position on the upper end portion of the stern. A spacer 54 is placed beneath the overlapping .end of the hub 5| and also surrounds the stem, said spacer preventing collapse of the operating lug. Formed on the opposite end of the lever along the portion of its forward edge is an upstanding ear 55 for manual engagement. The lever 5U is also provided, at its extreme end portion and near the ear 55 with a depending lug 55, the purpose for which will be described in more detail hereinafter. In orderto assure that the lever will be prevented from swinging too far rearwardly, I provide a stop 5l on which is mounted a guide plate 58, said guide plate extending forwardly above the lever near the hub 5| and serving the purpose of limiting said lever against too great upward shifting movement. The guide plate will, of course, assure that the lever will be moved forI positioning the valve member properly with respectv to the combined bushing and valve seat 24. As best seen in Figures 1, 5 and '7 of the drawings, the lever 59 is formed, substantially mediallyr of its length, with an arcuate and slightly upwardly inclined cam member 59. A projection 50 is formed on the opposite edge of the leve-r opposite the inner end of said cam member. rIhe purpose of the cam member 59 and projection 69 will be brought out in more detail hereinafter. An actuating lug or dog 6| isv formed on the forward edge of the lever 50, which is to say the same edge on which the projection 60 is formed, said actuating lug or dog 6| beingy of arcuate shape and being downwardly inclined toward its free end for engagement behind the shoulder 62 which is located at the rear end of a cam 63, said cam being integral with the top wall 2 and being arcuate in shape. It will now be understood that, when the lever 5l) is shifted from the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 to that shown in full lines in said figure,v the actuating lug will ride over the face of the cam 53and will, when the lever is in rearmost position, seat with the end of said lug against the shoulder 52. A heavy coiled spring 64 surrounds the upper end of the packing gland 38 and has one end portion 65 .extending upwardly into the hub and the other end portion extended to engage in a valve block 6B which is mounted on the top wall of the end section Il. 'I-'he spring 6,4 is tensioned for urging the lever in a forward direction so that, when said lever 5i) is free, it will be moved to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.

Formed in the end wall 2| of the end section il is a passage 6l which communicates between the mouth of the combined bushing and valve The valve seat 69 of the control valve k99 and the stem 10 are mounted within a bore 14, and leading from. said bore to the interior of the chamber I is a passage 15. The control valve 99 will eifectively control flow of water through the `bore 91 and passage 15 into the water chamber I5.

VMounted in the water chamber I5 yat the upper end thereof is a diaphragm 16, said diaphragm being Vof resilient material and being extended at its edges `to form a gasket for providing a tight seal between the top wall 2 and the body The diaphragm has an operating disk 11 mounted on its upper surface and this operating disk carries an operating plunger 18 which is slidably mounted in an opening 19 in the top wall 2. It will now be understood that upward movement of `the diaphragm will cause upward movement of the disk and consequent upward shifting of the plunger 13. This upward movement of the plunger will cause said plunger to impinge against the under surface of the actuating lug 6| with he result that said actuating lug will be shifted upwardly to the extent that it will be freed from behind the shoulder 62. When this takes place, the spr-ing 94 will cause the lever 50 to be swung forwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. A more complete operation of this mechanism will be set forth hereinafter.

A float chamber 89 is formed in the intermediate section |4 near the wall portion 6, said float chamber 89 being closed at its lower end by the bottom wall 9 of the body and said chamber being open at the upper end of the body. Loosely mounted in the chamber 89 is a float 8| which is provided with an axially mounted upwardly extending float valve 82, said oat valve extending within a bore 83 and having a valve element 94 which is engageable in a valve seat 85 which is formed in the lower-end of a yalve plug 86, said valve plug being Screwed into a thickened portion 91 of the top wall 2. A port 88 communicates between the upper end of the float chamber 80 and the water chamber I5, said port being disposed directly beneath the diaphragm 16.

Also mounted withinthe intermediate section l I4 is a drain valve unit, which is indicated generally at 89. The drain valve unit is shown in enlarged detail in Figure '1 of the drawings and, by referring to this gure, it will be seen that said drain valve'unit 99 is mounted in a vertically extending bore 99 in the intermediate section I4,"

said bore extending throughout the entire height of the body proper and being closed by the bottom wall 2 which bottom wall is formed, beneath the unit 89, with a boss 9|. A sleeve 92, of noncorrodible material, is fitted within the bore 99 and extends throughout the entire length of said bore. Mounted in the bore 99 is a needle valve member 93, said valve memberhaving a shank 94 and a head 95. The lower end of the valve projects through an opening 99 in the bottom wall 2 ,and has a valve face 91 which engages in a valve seat 98, saidvalve seat being formed in a valve plug 99which nis screwed axially into the boss 9|. A discharge port |99 leads from the valve `seat to the`exterior ofthe plug 99, while inlet ports |9| and |92 leadfromthe valve seat and communicate with ports |93 and |94 respectively, said port,` |93 communicating with the interior of the chamber rI5 and said port |94 communicating with ythe interior of the float chamber 89. A spring |95 surrounds the valve stem and is conned between the head 95 and the lower end of the bore 99. The spring normally urges the valve member so that the valve face will be moved out of engagement with the seat 98. Attention is called to thev fact that the spring |95 is of relatively light construction. Slidably mounted in the bore V9|) Vat its upper end is an operating plunger |96, said plunger having a stem |91 extending upwardly through the upper wall 2. A spring v|98 of relatively heavy construction is disposed in the bore between the head 95 and the head1 99. Aswill be seen by referring to Figure l of the drawings, the'stem |91 is presented for engagement by the cam member 59. Depression of thehe'ad |96 will cause depression of the head 95, and due to the fact that the spring |98 is of heavier construction than the spring |95, the needle valve member 93 will be forced into tight seating ,engagement in the valve seat 98. Of course, when pressure is released from the upper end ofthelstem |91, the spring |95 `will u rge the spring |98and head |96 upwardly.

In `o'r'der to aid the spring 64 in shifting the valve member 43, `which aid will be desirable when shifting said valve'rnember Vagainst water pressure, 4I `provide a helper spring |99, said helper spring having one end anchored in the thickened portinf81 of the top wall 2 and the other end engageable with'the lug 55, when the lever is in cocked position, as shown in full lines in Figure 1.

` The operation of my improved lawn sprinkler valvewill now be described.` The device is first made ready for use by connecting the pipe 23 with Va` suitable source of water under pressure. Before the water is turned on, the'y lever 59 is swung, against the tension of the spring 64, to the 'position shown in full lines in Figure 1. When moving to this position, the actuating lug SIgwillmove over the face of the cam 63 and will seat behind the shoulder 62. In this position, the actuating lug will overlie the plunger 18 and, also, the lug 56 will engage the end of thehelper spring for placing said helper spring under tension. As has been pointed out hereinbefore, `the ear 55 lends itself readily for manual engagement so that the lever may be swung withthe utmost ease. Swinging of the lever to cocked position will also have the effect of moving the stem |91 from the head |96 downwardly for moving the needle valve stem downwardly for seating the valve face 91 tightly in the valve seat/98. As has been explained, the stem |91 is moved by the cam member 59. When the needle valve member is in closed position, the passages |493 and |94 are cut off from the discharge passage |99, so that uid iiow through the passages |'99, |93 and |94 will be cut ofl.

The water is then turned on and said water will now through the pipe 23 into the valve chamber I6 and through the pipe 29 to a sprinkler connected therewith. This is true, of course, because the valve member 43 is in the position shown in Figure 3, which is to say, that the valve element 41 is in engagement with the seat member 39 of the combined bushing and seat 24 for cutting olf uid ow through the pipe 26. Wa-

ter will also flow upwardly through the bore 61 and past the control valve 68, it being understood that said control valve is partially opened, and through the passage 'I5 into the water chamber I5. In this connection it is desired to point` out that the amount of iiow of water through the passage 'l5 is controlled by the position of the valve 88. In this way, the length of time for lling the chamber I5 may thus be predetermined. As the chamber I5 is filling with Water, air will escape through the port 88 and upwardly past the valve 84 and through the plug 86. By virtue of this construction, air pressure, caused by rising water in the chamber I5, will not shift the diaphragm 18. When the chamber is iilled with water, however, said water will overow through the port 88 into the float chamber 80. As the water rises in the chamber, it will cause the float to rise for seating the valve 84 in the valve seat 85. This will prevent escape of either water or air, with the result that further flow of water into the chamber through the passage 'l5 will cause upward movement of the diaphragm l5. Said upward movement will shift the disk 'I'I and the plunger 18 upwardly with the result that said plunger will urge the actuating lug 6I upwardly to the extent that the end thereof will clear the shoulder 62 of the cam 53. The spring 64, with the aid of the helper spring |69 will quickly swing the lever from the position shown in full lines in Figure 1 to that shown in dotted lines in said iigure. This action will shift the valve member 43, within the valve chamber I8, to the position shown in full lines in Figure 3 to that shown in dotted lines in said gure. That is, to a position with the valve element 4t in closing relation to the seat 38 of the bushing and valve seat 28, Fluid flow will thus be prevented from passing through the pipe 2.9, and will be allowedto pass through the pipe 28 to another sprinkler or to another sprinkler valve, which would be identical with the valve under discussion. If there are no additional sprinklers, a plug would be screwed into the combined bushing and valve seat 24, with the result that complete water flow would be stopped.

As the lever 5i) is shifted by action of the springs, the projection (itl and cam element 59 are displaced from above the upper end of the .stem Isl of the plunger |86. The result of removal of theprojection and cam element above mentioned will be that the springV H25l will be permitted: to shift the needle valve element 93 upwardly for permitting draining of the chamber I5 andthe float chamber 88, through the pas- Having thus described the invention, what is '7 claimed as new is:

l. In a valve of the class described, a body vhaving a water chamber, an end section connected with the body and cooperating therewith to define a Valve chamber, an intermediate section deiined between the chambers, said valve chamber having an inlet pipe and a pair of outlet pipes,A a valve member movable in the valve chamber, a valve stem on the valveV member, a lever connected. with the valve stem and having lGO a hub, a spring about the hub and normallyr urging the lever to released position for disposing the valve member to close one of the outlet pipes whereby water will flow through the chamber and through the other of said pipes, an outlet for the water chamber, means for closing the outlet upon shifting of the lever to a cocked position, said valve member being positioned to confront the other of the inlet pipes for diverting flow within the valve chamber,A means for releasably retaining the lever in cocked position, means for permitting flow of water between the chambers, pressure actuated means within the water chamber and operable for displacing the lever from behind the retaining means whereby said spring will be operable for shifting the lever and thus shifting the valve member for again diverting water flow within the valve chamber, and means carried by the intermediate section and operable for preventing the building up of air pressure within the water chamber, said outlet closing means being released by movement of the lever to released position for permitting draining of the water chamber.

2. In a valve of the class described, a body having a water chamber, an end section connected with the body and cooperating therewith to define a valve chamber, an intermediate section dened between the chambers, said valve chamber having an inlet pipe and a pair of outlet pipes, a Valve member movable in the valve chamber, a valve stem on the valve member, a lever connected with the valve stem and having a hub, a spring about the hub and normally urging the lever to released position for disposing the valve member to close one of the outlet pipes whereby water will Iiow through the chamber and through the other of said pipes, an outlet for the water chamber, means for closing the outlet upon shifting of the lever to a cocked position, said Valve member being positioned to confront the other of the inlet pipes for diverting flow within the valve chamber, means for releasably retaining the lever in cocked position, means ior permitting flow of water between the chambers, pressure actuated means within the water chamber and operable ier displacing the lever from behind the retaining means whereby said spring will be operable for shifting the lever and ,thus shifting the valve member for again diverting water flow within the valve chamber, and means carried by the intermediate section and operable for preventing the building up of air pressure within the water chamber, said outlet closing means being released by movement of the lever to releasedv position for permitting draining of the water chamber, said air pressure preventing means including a float chamber in the intermediate portion, a float loosely mounted in the chamber, and a valve closed by the float upon overowing of water into the iloat chamber from the water chamber.

3. In a device of the class described, a body having a water chamber and an intermediate portion, said body having a boss beneath the intermediate portion, a bore in the intermediate portion, a plug screwed into the boss and having a valve seat, a passage communicating between the water chamber and the valve seat, a float chamber in the intermediate portion, said chamber having an air outlet opening, a lvalve plug in the opening, a passage communicating between the float chamber and the valve seat, a iioat in the float chamber and having a iloat valve engageable in the valve plug, a discharge passage communicating between the valve seat and the exterior of the plug, and aneedle valve stem `in the bore and movable into and out of engagement with the valve seat.

4. In a device of the class described, a body having a water chamber and a valve chamber, said chambers dening an intermediate portion, a float chamber in the intermediate portion, a

port communicating between the water chamber and the float chamber, a float in the oat chamber and having a valve, and a valve plug carried by the body above the fioat valve, said port pro'- viding an escape for air rising within the water chamber upon rising of water therein and said communicating between the valve seat and the I exterior of the plug, and a needle valve stem in the bore and movable from a position sealing theV passages for retaining water in the chambers to a position opening said passages for permitting iioat closing the float valve upon overflowing of 15 drainage of said chambers.

water into the oat chamber.

5. In a device of the class described, a body CLARENCE A. BURROUGHS. 

